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Star Kitchen: Paula Deen

Paula Deen will be the first to tell you that filming a cooking show in your own kitchen is not as glamorous as it sounds. Eventually, she gave in and handed over this space to the TV folks, and she built a new house for herself right next door! "Now I can go work and come back home to a clean kitchen. And life is undisturbed."

Oversize Sink

Paula's secret to keeping an orderly kitchen: Install one giant sink. "When I cook, I mess up every pot and pan in the house," she says. "My sink is so deep that I can put a whole bunch of dirty dishes in there and nobody can see them."

Well-Used Counters

Paula chose country-looking soapstone over modern granite for her counters, but she says she wouldn't do it again: "Soapstone gets nicks in it very easily, like a stick of butter!"

Salvaged Copper

For a long time, Paula's copper-pot collection was only for decoration, but she finally sent her pots off to be re-lined so she could cook out of them. "I would just pick them up if they were a good price," she says. "I was shocked at how many I managed to collect."

Functional Fireplace

This enormous fireplace doesn't get much play during Savannah summers, but Paula does use it to make biscuits and other baked goods. "Even though it's very hot in the South, I love the coziness of a fireplace," she says.